SITA to Deploy CPDLC Infrastructure in Portugal

Air navigation service provider NAV Portugal has partnered with air transport communications provider SITA to implement the data link infrastructure required to comply with the EU Regulations for the Single European Sky, which come into force this month.

Under the 10-year agreement with NAV Portugal, SITA will provide the air/ground data link communication infrastructure to enable CPDLC service in NAV Portugal’s upper airspace. It will use VHF Data Link Mode 2 (VDLm2) and Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN) technology as mandated by the European regulation. The infrastructure includes eight VHF Ground Stations and SITA’s AIRCOM Monitoring System. These stations will service both air traffic control and airline operational communications in the Portuguese airspace.

The regulation mandates Western European air navigation service providers and airlines implement Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC). The move is estimated by EUROCONTROL to enable an increase of 11 percent of air traffic capacity in Western Europe and a 29 percent reduction of the work load of the air traffic controllers.

“This partnership is well underway with many of the NAV Portugal ground stations already deployed. We have drawn on our experience from similar partnerships that we established with air navigation service providers across Europe including in Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland, and are confident that this too will be a win-win for NAV Portugal and SITA,” said Philip Clinch, SITA vice president, Aircraft Communications. More